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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



A TRIP TO CALIFORNIA 




Copywrited IQOS by 

ROBERT C. WAGNER 






LlBrtARY of CONoKtSS! 
I wo OOBies rtecei»ei4 

JUN ^19 laOB 

Oi^SSA AXc. No. 

I COPY B. 



TO OUR DEAR OXKS 



m 



HO were with us in s])irit thrDui^liout this trip, this 
description of "Our Tri]) to CaHfornia " is dechcated 
with much love. 

'!'() teh all we had seen and admired, would he to write 
a hook. We have omitted much we would like to have 
written, and ])erhaps written nuich we mi^ht have omited. 
hut our threat desire has heen that you mig'ht see what 
we have seen, even though in ])art. and as through a 
glass darklv. That you may sometime see. face to face, 
is the wish of vour 

I'Al'A AXD A[AM.M.\. 



m 



\\ received a l)()^tal of a Calit\)rnia residence street on 
I'el)ruarv 20th sayinj^": "Do come out here to this 
land of sunshine and flowers." We had loni^" seen California 
in a vision, and all at once it seemed borne in upon us that 
now was the accepted time for the vision to materialize; 
and slowly, but surely, day l)y day. the substance of thins^s 
ho]XHl for bct^an to apjiear, until all things necessary for 
our tri]) were in evidence. ( )ur hearts will ever be filled 
with gratitude to the Powers that be — that made possible 
this delightful trip. We bade s^ood-bye to Our Dear Ones 
at the I'lu'on .Station. Albany, at 12 m.. Tuesday, ^farch 
17th. I<;c8. our drawing- room filled witli flowers and kind 
wishes for a pleasant journey and a safe return. As our 
train of fullmans started west over the ])erfect roadbed of 
America's i^reatest railroad. throu<^"h the beautiful valley of 
the Mohawk " the heart of the world," in one of the worst 
snow storms of the vear. we realized for the first that our 
virion was assumini^' tan!.^ible form. 

Wednesday, March 18. — W'e arrived at Chicago at 7 a. 
M. and went to the Hotel Kaiserhof. 1 wish I could describe 
th.e wonderful carving- and beauties of the dining room of 
tliis hotel. While Papa s])ent the day greeting the ofificials of 
tl;e Pullman Company I visited the public library and was 
much impressed with the inscri]Hions in the difTferent rooms. 
I copied this: " lie that loveth a book will never want a 
faithful friend, a wholesome c(nuisellor, a cheerful com- 
panion, an effectual comforter." 1 visited some of the 
largi'r de])artment stores which compare very favorably 
with the em])()riums of oiu- own Xew York City. Uncle 
Austin joined me in the afternoon and took me to see the 
Coliseum where oiu- next Republican President is to be 
ncjminated. and other places of interest. .\fter sending 
postals to ( )ur Dear ( )nes we started west again at ():io 
p. M. on the Santa I'e. and realized that the journey over- 
land had actnalh- begun. I'leasant friends had joined us 
at this part nf our iourne\- for tlieir first tri]) to California, 
and we found iheir conii)any most congenial. 



Thursday, March 19. — We had crossed the Father of 
Waters in the night and at ii a. m. we crossed the Missouri. 
We had taken our last breakfast of our trip west in a chninij 
car. and our first of the Harvey system of dining service 
of wliich I cannot say enough in their favor. From now 
on, these beautiful eating houses, built on the old mission 
style of cement instead of adobe, furnished so artistically 
and luxuriously, seemed to spring up like oasis in the 
desert — wherever needed and contributed to the inner man 
as some of our finest hotels would do well to imitate. 

Friday, March 20. — At io:io a. m. we crossed the high- 
est point on the Santa Fe at Raton Pass, 7,608 feet above 
sea level. In crossing over the hundreds of miles of sand 
and sage brush of New Mexico and Arizona, we saw so 
many quaintly garbed Hopi and Navajo Indians. These 
are, without exception, the most primitive Indians in our 
country. We saw so many " hogans," their low adobe 
huts, where they live in squallor, resisting to the last any 
form of civilization ; although at several places we had 
passed Indian reservations where our Government is doing 
all it can to civilize them. I must not forget to mention the 
wonderful growth of cacti and also the myriads of ground 
s(|uirrels : they contributed not a little to oiu- entertain- 
ment. 

Saturday, March 21. — At 12 m., we reached Williams. 
/Vrizona, and took the train for a three hours" ride directly 
north to the Grand Canyon. As we stood by the beautiful 
Hotel El T(war, 7,000 feet above sea level and close to 
the rim of the Grand Canyon, we looked down a perpen- 
dicular mile, from rim to the roaring Colorado river, which 
looks like a silvery thread so far below ; and across a dizzy 
thirteen miles to the opposite walls ; it is 200 miles in length. 
Stoled, indeed, is he who can view the awful scene without 
]:)ated breath ; eluding all sense of ])erspective or dimension, 
one is overwhelmed by the ensemble of a stupendous 
panorama — a labyrinth of huge architectural forms, and 



painted with every color known to the pallet. As j. L. 
Stoddard has so graphically written : "An awful 54ult. within 
whose cavernous immensity the forests of the Adirondack's 
would appear like jackstraws, the Hudson Palisades would 
])e an insii^nificant stratum. Niagara would he indiscernahle 
and cities could he tossed like pehbles." We were fortunate 
to see the clouds in the Canyon and its mysterious purple 
shadows as the sun sank in the west, also its spectral forms 
by moonlight reminding us, like the inscription over the 
entrance of the h'l Tovar : " Dreams of mountains as they 
brood on things eternal." 

Sunday. March 22. — We arose very early to see sunrise 
on the Canvon. Words fail me as 1 think of those noble 
amphitheatres and many colored galleries opening to our 
view, and I feel, indeed, that He who first made and painted 
the lily and the rose could have been the only artist or the 
architect. Tt was in truth like standing on some new 
Mount of Transfiguration, where language fails and descri])- 
tion becomes im])ossible. We must not leave this wonder- 
ful Canyon without jKiying our resj^jccts to the Hopi House. 
a stone building plastered with adobe, covering a space of 
f>o by ()0 feet, like an Indian pueblo. Here live the most 
primitive Indians in America doing all kinds of un-American 
things. We witnessed many of their ceremonies several 
centuries old. We saw many costly specimens of Indian 
liandiwork. a priceless collection of Xavajo blankets and 
Pomo basket exhibit — the finest of its kind in the world, a 
room filled with rare buffalo hide shields, and a sales- 
room containing the most interesting display of genuine 
Indian handiwork in the country. We reached Needles at 
6.25 p. M.. after we had crossed the Colorado river, a muddy 
stream, but the first river bed containing water that we 
had seen since crossing the Missouri, and we felt that 
henceforth our beautiful rivers would sjieak to us with a 
new meaning. 



Monday, March 23. — We were up early at San P>crnar- 
(lino, where our dear Mr. and Airs. Kingshury left our party 
for Redlands with many good wishes, and we knew we 
were at last in the heautiful land of sunshine and flowers. 
We arrived at Los Angeles at 9:20 a. m., one hour late 
in crossing the continent. After hidding other kind friends 
a God-speed we had breakfast at the Van Nuys, and after 
sending (_)ur Dear Ones California cards, we went to call 
on our dear Aunt Mary at beautiful Ilotel Leighton, where 
we received a most cordial welcome and heard of The Ange- 
lus where we located for our stay in Los Angeles and where 
we were made most comfortable. All the appointments 
are perfect, and it had a peculiar charm for me as it is 
named for Millet's beautiful painting of two peasants work- 
ing in the fields and hearing the Angelus in the distant city, 
bow their heads in silent prayer. A beautiful copy was 
hanging in the ladies' parlor and even the dishes were 
beautiful with the same design. We spent the afternoon 
in writing letters and in the evening were entertained at 
Tbe Leighton. 

Tuesday, March 24. — Wbile Papa was greeting railroad 
oftlcials. etc., I enjoyed a most perfect day at Santa Monica, 
nineteen miles from Los Angeles, in our dear aunt's com- 
pany, where we were delightfully entertained at the home 
of a friend in the dearest bungalow on a bluff overlooking 
the sea. As J caught the first glimpse of the Grand 
Pacific I remembered . the vivid description in my early 
history lessons of Balboa's wonderful discovery in 1513, 
we bad such a wonderful day of sight seeing, the 
olive groves, the beautiful date palms, magnolia, pepper, 
china berry, eucalyptus of so many varieties, acasias and 
umbrella trees, all so interesting. 



Wednesday. March 25. — We had a most enjoyable day's 
outini;-. We visited leii of the different beaches and eig-ht 
cities, a seventy-mile trij). twenty-eii^ht miles of which 
are directly aloni^" the ^rand Tacific Ocean. We ])assed 
tbroui^'h orange, lemon and hg' i^roves. We ]:)assed the old 
IMaza Mission built in 1761; near it we saw one of the 
l)ells marking- tbe El Camino Real, meanini^- the Kind's 
liiyhway, the road used by the Catholic missionaries travel- 
uv^ from one mission to the other. These bells are located 
at intervals alont;- tbis |)ath tbrout^hout California. We 
l)assed througii the oil district for not only the surface 
soil of California is rich but treasures of oil lie beneath. 
We \Vere informed that Rockefeller had recently purchased 
tbe Pacific Ocean. The beautiful suburbs of Los Angeles 
witli their attractive bung-alows and homes of Los Angeles 
business men. with their tro]^ical ])lants and flowers, is really 
a modern (iarden of l^den. Luscious strawberries grow 
here every month of the year. We visited the National 
.Soldiers" Home, most beautifully located on a s(|uare mile 
of arboreal and floral wealtb. where the}- provide for 3,000 
men who fought the natiiai's battles. We visited beautiful 
(^cean Park where four of the Pacific tieet were anchored 
readv waiting to escort the war vessels in from Magdelena 
bay and beautiful X'enice, jjatterned after \'enice of sunny 
Italy. Stoi)])ing at Playa del Key where we had a fine view 
of the ocean and breakers while enjoying- a delicious fisb 
dinner. We visited Redondo lleach and the great Hotel 
Rcdondo and gardens, near which are the carnation gardens 
covering fourteen acres. At the time of President AlcKin- 
lev's visit to the Los .\ngeles Piesta 30,000 white carnations 
were sui)plied for tbe decorations of tbe presidential car- 
riage. We jiassed tbrougli many walnut orcliards. alfalla 
fields and - o nmcli of interest. 



Thursday, March 26. — We visited San Pedro, die port 
of Los Angeles, and saw the $3,000,000 Government break- 
water making; one of the finest harbors in the workl, and 
saw ships from all parts of the world, where we took a 
steamer for Santa Catalena an island three hours from Los 
Angeles, in the blue waters of the Pacific. The waters sur- 
rounding this magic isle are marvelously transparent. 
Through glass bottomed boats we saw plants growing in 
tropical luxuriance. Language fails to express the wonder- 
ful beauty of these strange plants, vines, and flowers 
of the most delicate tints, while among them move emerald 
fish and golden perch like beautiful song birds. Starfish, 
sea cucumbers, coral, beautiful shells, sponges, and many 
wonders of the deep hold one fascinated. We dined at the 
beautiful Metripole and visited the seal rocks where we 
were so interestd in seeing the seals partaking of a fish 
dinner while the sea gulls were partaking of the remnants. 
We purchased in one of the many curio stores a war 
vessel, not one of the fleet so anxiously expected by all 
California, but a smaller one for our little Robert. \\'e 
saw many flying fish on our trip home and experienced the 
roughest ocean trip of the year. It was good to be on land 
again and we were sure it was one of the days we would 
long remember. 

Friday, March 27. — We spent this day at Passadena. a 
suburb of forty thousand inbabitants, an idylic city of roses, 
which wealth and refinement have made a seeming 
paradise of verdure. We were the guests of our 
dear friend Mr. Lockwood at Hotel Raymond, on 
its great bloom incrusted hill. We were taken for 
a three hours' drive that we can never forget, 
through l)eautiful shaded streets, and residences set in 
miniature parks until our adjectives of delight were 
exhausted, out through blooming orchards, where we gath- 
ered quantities of the beautiful wild ])Oppy^the California 
State flower. We arrived at the old San Gabriel Mission 
founded in 1771. at 12 m.. just in time to hear the famous 



chime of six hells rhv^ the Anoelus. We were shown the 
records of the haptism of 6.000 infant Indians. We were 
so interested in the wonderful work of the h'ranciscian 
heathers in civilizini^- and Christianizing- the Indians. As 
we passed through the sleei)y old S])anish town of San 
( iahriel we saw one of the larg'est s^rapevines in the world 
and the oldest orange gTove in southern California. Mr. 
r.ockwood conversed in Si)anish with some of the natives 
for our edification he said. We returned to the Raymond 
where we did. full justice to a most delicious luncheon and 
had such a ^-ood visit after admiring' the beautiful hotel and 
t^Tounds. We said g'ood-ljye, assuring- our dear friend that 
th.is had been tlie best of our galaxy of beautiful days. On 
our way home we visited the Cawston Ostrich farm, the 
olde.s^t and largest in America, in a garden spot beautified 
by semi-tropical verdure. There are 150 birds on exhibition. 
We saw them in all stages of development from the newly 
hatched chicks to the I^atriarchs of the fiock. We saw the 
male birds going on the nests for the night as they take 
their twru witli the female in hatching out their young. 
They mate when four years old and are most faithful 
partners. Divorces are wholly unknown. We saw^ the 
])rocess of treating the feathers from being plucked until 
read\' ior market. 

Saturday, March 28. — Accompaniefl by .Aunt Mary we 
visited Redlands and Riverside. Redlands, is, in truth, 
the r)eauty Spot of the Pacific Coast. Here California 
officiallv welcoiued Presidents McKinley and Roosevelt. 
Mere we were entertained at the beautiful Casa Loma by 
our friends Mr. and Mrs. Kingsbiu\v. We were taken such 
a delightful drive through Canyon C'rest Park on Snu'ley 
Heights passing many beautiful homes and public bnildings. 
The ]mblic library, a gift to the city by Mr. .A.. K. .Smiley, 
is a l)eantiful building built on the old mission style con- 
taining 12.000 volumes. I'ordering the more than three 
miles of roadway in this park are ujiwards of twelve 
lunidred varieties of shrubs and ])lants. b^lowers are 



everywhere, a limitless wealth of color, fragrance and beauty. 
As we stood on the crest of the hill looking down, we saw 
Redlands like a g^reat ])ark with its 12.000 acres of oranges 
and perha])s a thousand acres of flowers, and looking" up. 
only a little way beyond, the grandest peaks of southern 
California's Sierra Madre, (mother of mountains), whose 
snow-capped summits rise to an elevation of more than 
12,000 feet. After enjoying- a delicious luncheon we said 
g'ood-bye to our friends with President McKinley's words 
in our hearts, " We will carry away with us the 
])erfume of your flowers, and more than that, we will 
carry away with us the memory of this beautiful reception 
and heart touch we have had from our g-ood friends." We 
went from here to Riverside, which has 12,000 population 
and the greatest of orange growing colonies. Here we saw 
tlie highest development of the orange industry as a money 
luaking business. Six thousand carloads of oranges are 
shipped hence each year. We visited one of the largest 
packing houses and saw the fruit being cleaned, sorted and 
packed for market. The machines for making the boxes 
are almost human, as you feed them with slats and nails 
and they give you whole boxes ready to be filled with the 
luscious fruit. We saw the two parent trees from which 
s])rang all the navel oranges that were ever eaten. No two 
trees probably ever fathered so much wealth. No one 
surely can look unmoved upon them. As tiny cuttings they 
were sent to Riverside by the Department of Agriculture 
in Washington, in 1874. We saw one, inclosed in an iron 
grating, on our twenty mile automobile ride down the beau- 
tiful \'ictoria and Magnolia avenue, and the other within 
a grating in the court yard c^f the beautiful Mission Inn. 
TJiis was replanted in its ])resent {position on May 8. 1903. 
by President Roosevelt. We saw the big golden fruit 
hanging from its boughs. 1 wish you could see Magnolia 
avenue, for ten miles stretch quadru])le rows of magnificent 
l)e])per trees, eucalyptus, grevellas, ])alms and the beautiful 
magnolias from which it takes its name, and such beautiful 
public buildings and homes. \Ve saw the Sherman Institute 



tor educating- the Indians. The Xew (ilenwood or Mission 
Inn had a peculiar charm for me. i'uilt after mission 
style with the massive beams, the iron chandeliers, which 
are mission bells adorned with massive chains, the doors 
locked with old fashioned iron latches, the guests called to 
meals with musical chimes of mission bells. The old spin- 
ning-wheel in the hallway recalls the picture of Ramona, 
while nearby lies the book. The images of patron saints 
niched here and there ])reserve the traditions of ancient 
days. We saw the cross on the summit of Rubidoux. erected 
April 26. 1907, to the memory of the grand old man Father 
Junipero vSerra, the ])ioneer mission builder of southern 
California. It stands on the spot where the cross was raised 
by Franciscian Fathers so many years ago, overlooking the 
vallev blessed by Father Serra. As we left this favored 
spot, passing through the greatest citrus fruit section of 
the world, the air redolent with orange blossoms, we felt 
tliat the cross was indeed an eternal benediction to those 
who dwell beneath its shadow. 

Sunday. March 29. — Papa went to Redlands again to see 
our friends as we were much worried about Mr. Kingsbury, 
Vi'hile I wrote letters to Our Dear Ones, then went to The 
Leighton, wh,ere we were invited to dinner with our Aunt 
Mary. We s]:)ent a very i:)leasant evening meeting many 
charming iieoi)le. We had enjoyed being with Aunt Mary 
so much. 

Monday, March 30. — We sjjent in saying good-bye to Los 
.\ngeles rightly christened for the Angels, for surely they 
are the guardians of its matcliless climate. It is the second 
city on the Pacific Coast, and the metropolis of southern 
California. It has had the most wonderful growth of any 
city in the world, having in 1880 a ])0])ulati(Mi of 11,000 
and now a city of nearly 300.000 inhabitants. It is a city 
of fruit and flowers, of ])alms and pep])er trees, of century 
plants and tree geraniums, of roses climbing to the house 
to])s. of hedges of margueretes anrl of calla lilies, of mag- 



nificent public buildings, and vine covered homes — mansions, 
bungalows and cottages, surroimded with tropical plants in 
bloom from January to December. We had enjoyed our 
sojourn here so much and it was with much regret we 
started again Monday evening, on our trip by the Southern 
Pacific-El Camino Real, the old highway of the Mission 
Fathers, passing at night Camulos, ever dear to the lovers 
of literature as the home of " Ramona." 

Tuesday, March 31. — We found ourselves at Santa Bar- 
bara, one of the oldest in the chain of old Spanish towns. 
It has much of interest with its great ( )cean Boulevard, its 
artistic homes on slopes and terraces, with a background 
of ever blooming flowers ; and one of the oldest and best 
preserved of California's missions, founded in 1786. 
Prayers at its altars have been said unceasingly since it 
was established. Here we were shown around by I'rother 
Muygolino, the noted Cicerone, dressed in the ((uaint garb 
of the ancient order of Franciscians. We climbed the 
fifty-nine old stone steps where the two-story towers yet 
shelter the ancient chime of bells, where we could sec into 
the ■■ Sacred "' garden, into which no woman is allowed to 
enter, unless she be the wife of the President of the I'nited 
States, or a reigning Queen. Over lOO different kinds of 
flowers are cultivated here. We bought some beads made 
of seeds taken from this garden, called Job's Tears. We 
were taken into the small Campo Santo, entered from the 
church, where 4,000 Indians were buried in the Christian 
faith, also 2,000 white peoj^jle. We were so interested in 
all that now remains an emblem of the mighty jiast ; it is 
impossible not to feel the charm which these old structures 
add to the country. Twenty-one missions were founded 
by the Franciscian Fathers between 1769 and 1823. W'hile 
America, amid the smoke and roar of conflict was struggling 
for indejiendence (on the Atlantic Coast), tlie Franciscians 
were building these (juaint churches and training the Indian 
tribes in the arts f)f peace. Here you see faith in works. 
To the mission fathers honor: they wrought with high piu"- 



])()sc' and well, s^uicled h}' as sublime a faith as ever led man 
from the fatherland out into the wilderness. We were 
delii^hted with 1 lotel 1 'otter, erected in 1902 at a cost of over 
$1,000,000. {'routing- on the Ocean IJoulevard, it stands in 
an immense flower garden, a mass of ])loom and more than 
an acre of beautiful calla lilies. We certainly echoed the 
kind wish of the pro])rietor that we mi^ht remain long'cr. 

W'e continued our journey at 1 i 140 a. m. on the Southern 
I'acific (alon^- El Camino Real) and spent a most delii>"htful 
day passin!2; throuj^h one of the richest and most varied 
section of California. The journey northward for nearly 
eighty miles, is along the cliffs of the Pacific, from fifty to 
200 feet above the ocean. The road runs along the very 
edge of these clift's and the Pacific is unrolled as one great 
])ictii,re. We were much interested in the wonderful oil 
fields and as])halt deposits, the olive groves and sugar beet 
factories, the walnut orchards and fields of mustard, like 
those described in " Ramona '" and in another Hook, where 
tlie birds mav rest in its branches. Near here is raised half 
the mustard used in the I'nited States. The Ijeautiful 
])(^pj)}' transforms acre after acre into a field of the cloth of 
gold. After j^assing San Luis Obispo we climbed into the 
Santa Pucia range, passing over a remarkable inclined horse- 
shoe, which is very picturesque. We passed through Paso 
Robles, where are the far-famed thermal sj^rings, where Rear 
Admiral Evans is soon to come for treatment. Passing 
through a very fertile country of much interest, we reached 
Castroville, where we took a branch line, fifteen miles to Del 
Monte. 245 miles" journey from Santa Harbara. arriving at 
9:00 I'. M.. where we enjoyed a most refreshing night's rest. 

Wednesday, April 1. — Was most enjoyable; Hotel Del 
Monte is beautiful; of Swiss (iothic architecture, with over 
500 rooms, standing in the midst of a magnificent park of 
139 acres of fiow^ers, trees and rare ])Iants, from all ])arts of 
the world. Xo description is adequate to give one any clear 
idea of its wonderful charms. The hotel and grounds are a 
part of a 7.000 acre reservation, on which the famotis seven- 



tcen-milc drive is located, helons^in^- to the I'acific fmprove- 
ment Company, which, through its large holdings, has 
turned the entire peninsula into a vast ])leasure park. Start- 
ing early with one of the very best livery teams and a most 
well-informed driver, over oiled roads, the counterpart of 
which cannot be found outside of California, we drove 
through these matchless grounds under evergreen oaks and 
huge ])ine trees, towering over lOO feet high, past the 
Arizona garden, with giant cacti, the Maze, with over a mile 
of hedged pathway, and so viuch of beauty, on through the 
(|uaint town of Monterey one mile distant ; along the shore 
two miles to Pacific Grove, passing the Presidio, one of the 
largest army posts in the country. Pacific Grove is most 
interesting, under the management of the P. I. C. The Stan- 
forrl University has a marine laboratory here, and here is 
the Chautauqua of the West. It is a charming health and 
educational resort. We had a magnificent view of ocean 
and bay from Point Pinos Light House, then back to Forest 
avenue, where we began the famous seventeen-mile drive, on 
which nature has cons]:)ired to produce forest and marine 
])ictures such as no other country can ofl:"er. (_)ver a perfect 
roadbed, along high blufi^s, where waves dash high, we saw 
the troubled waters of Point Joe. The Seal Rocks, with their 
hundreds of diving inhabitants. Point Cypress, a weird, fan- 
tastic grove of " Cedars of Lebanon," the onlv one on the 
American continent, they have stood facing the storms of 
the Pacific for the past thousand years, along pebble beach 
on peaceful Carmel Pay and through a Chinese fishing vil- 
lage. Leaving the shore, we descend into a picturescjue can- 
yon, then rising to the highest i^oint of the drive, where we 
see Monterey and Del Monte, a ])an(M-ama of bay and shore, 
forest, town and hill. Monterey was California's first capi- 
tal. As we entered the city again from the south, winding- 
through its (|uaint crooked streets, we saw Colton Mall, 
where the first constitutional convention met in T849 and was 
California's first State cai:)itol. The old custom house was 



\ 



most inlcrcstiiii^', l)uilt in ])art l)y Spain in 1814. Mexico in 
[834 and the United States in 1846, whei-e the American ilai;" 
was first raised in C'ahl'ornia l)y order of John Drake Sloate. 
We saw many old linildinj^s and old adohe rnins. ancient 
landmarks of a vanished power. Monterey is one of the 
most pictnres(|ne of the historical cities of America. 
A hundred years hefore the Pilgrims landed at 
riymouth Rock, the shadows of a rude cross were reflected 
in the waters of Monterev I'.av. In 1770 on the same spot 
came h'ather junipero Serra. that strand old man who estah- 
lished all the famous missions of California, and here, on 
the heii^iits, just ahove the mouth of the little stream where 
the first mass was said, has heen erected a monument to his 
memory. It mav he seen for a long- distance, and is most 
>]:)icturesque ; it is a statue of Juni]:)ero Serra, clotherl in the 
vestments of his order, standini^' in a hoat, and is carved of 
.granite. ( )n the pedestal are engraved under the names and 
dates of the missions he founded, these words: 'A\s 
t'x' r.ord liveth, even what my i\n(\ saith that will I si)eak : 
11 Chron., t8 chap., 13 verse." \lso: "This monument 
erected l)y Jane 1.. Stanford, in the year i8i;i, in memory 
of I'^ather Junipero Serra, a ])hilanthropist seeking- the wel- 
fare of tlie humhlest. a hero daring- and ready to sacrifice 
himself for the g-ood of his fellow heings. a faithful servant 
of his master." 

At the old Carniel mission, seven miles out, all that is 
niortal of this grand old man. lies in rei)ose, tmder the 
clnnxh altar, l)ut I was comforted with the thought that 
he ^till lives in th.e hear-ts of tourists from all i)arts of the 
world, as the\- see in these < ^Id missions, faith in works 
and are renewed in strength, as they journeyon in the King's 
highway. At 4:30 i>. m. we took the train for Santa Cruz 
at th.e northern cu<\ of Monterey l!ay arriving at C) 130 i'. m.. 
a distance of fortv-five nn'les where \\x' were made most 
comfortahle at the .St. ( leorge Motel. 



Thursday, April 2. — Was another dehghtful clay. We 
had stopped over specially to see the Big Trees, seven 
miles from here up the Santa Cruz mountains. One can 
take a branch of the S. P. Railway to the Big Tree Station, 
lOO yards from the entrance. This road was a direct route 
to San Jose over the Santa Cruz mountains, but the earth- 
quake of 1906 put it out of commission, destroying three 
tunnels. It will soon be in operation again and must be 
a very picturesque route. We preferred the drive and found 
it a most wonderful, experience. Climbing steadily up the 
San Lorenzo Canyon, amid the redwood, madrone, laurel 
and pine, we could look down a dizzy 1,000 feet on the 
San Lorenzo river far below. The road in many places is 
on a sheer ledge where a misstep would be fatal. We were 
thankful for a careful driver, his only recommendation. 
W> saw one of the largest powder works in the world and 
immense lime works and teams of eight oxen far up in the 
mountain hauling wood for their consuming. Arriving at 
Big Trees we walked over the Swinging Bridge across the 
San Lorenzo far below. This grove belongs to a private 
estate and covers twenty acres. You pay an entrance fee 
and walk in among these monarchs of the forest, — the 
largest, the Grant, is 300 feet high. Many of them are from 
sixty to ninety feet in circumference with heights from 200 
to 300 feet. It is impossible to see these great trees without 
emotion. A feeling of awe creeps over you, you s])eak low, 
as in a holy place and you feel indeed that " the Groves were 
God's First Temples." We were shown General Grant and 
General Sherman, McKinlcy and Roosevelt. I thought what 
an honor ! For thousands of years nature has been patiently 
erecting these beautiful monuments. We went inside the 
hollow tree where General Fremont camped in 1846 and 
were told fifty soldiers had been inside at once. The win- 
dows and chimney Opening he cut, have nearly grown closed, 
showing the wonderful life of these trees. There are two 
varieties of these trees, both evergreen, found only in Cali- 
fornia. The Sequoia Sempervirens, or redwood, grows only 
high up on the ocean side of the Coast Range, and the 



Se(|U()ia (iij^antea. is found only on the western slojic of the 
Sierra Nevada only at a hij^h elevation. Their ai^e no man 
knoweth. 'i'he President of Leland Stanford I'niversity 
says tliat the larj^est trees ma}' be 7.000 years old. They 
were here when history bes^an. They may be here when 
man has passed into oblivion. They are indeed as Words- 
worth has written : 
"A living" thin,^". Prodneed too slowly ever to deeay. 
Of form and as])ect too mai^niiieent, to be destroyed." 
Descendint^" tliis dizzy drive again we found Santa Cruz 
a most pietures(|nely located city. ( )n one side the ocean 
breaks furiously ag'ainst the hi^h cliil's forminj;- beautiful 
wave pictures, while on the bay side is the favorite bathintj;' 
beach of northern California. Santa Cruz is a summer 
resort open from June to ( )ctober. This was our first 
experience in beini^' out of season. We saw the beautiful 
Sea lieach Hotel and the i^'rand new $100,000 Casino and 
Tent city. We were shown the grand ball rc^om already 
decorated for the ex]iected lleet. Although a summer resort 
Santa Cruz is a typical California city with Japanese 
oranges, lemons and palm shaded streets, with flowers ever 
l)looming " of endless summer with no last rose." 

At 4:30 p. M. we took the San l^^rancisco ex]:)ress running 
into the main line at Pajaro. and were on our way up the 
beautiful Santa Clara N'alley ])assing tb.rough the largest 
continuous orchard area in the world, of j)rnne. peach, 
cl;err\-. almond and pear, dazzling in their l)rilliancy of 
bloom. W'c were just in time for nature's annual blossom 
fe-^tival of s])ring. We will never forget that beautiful sight. 
We ],'assed th.e famous Morse seed farms where we saw 
many Chinese working". They say they make splendid gar- 
deners. Hundreds of tons of garden flower seed are shipped 
east and to Euro])e. At San Jose we would like to have 
visited Lick Observatory, on Moimt llann'lton, a drive of 
twenty-eight miles; and at Palo Alto, tlie Leland .Stanford, 
Ir. I'niversitv. the largest endowed university in the world. 
These were the onlv regrets in our itinerary. We arrived at 
San I'^rancisco at 1^:45 i*. m.. eighty miles from .Santa Cruz 



and 400 miles from Los Angeles, and were whirled throug-h 
its streets in a cab to the Grand, where we found our trunk 
and were made most comfortable. 

We slept soundly in our pleasant room in the new steel 
and tile hotel, one of the most centrally located and popular 
hotels of San Francisco, for we had read that Dr. Omori, 
professor of seismology of the Imperial University of Japan, 
said : " Earthquakes that remove a great unstability in the 
earth's crust never ha])pen successively at one and the same 
place." 

Friday, April 3. — After preparing for our homeward trip 
by donning warmer clothing and reading our dear letters 
from the east, we were taken under the kindly wing of 
Mr. Lincoln, the efficient Pullman representative at 
San Francisco. We were taken to The Fairmont, with its 
500 rooms, its banquet, cafe and ball rooms, enclosed gar- 
dens and conservatories, one of the many palatial phoenix 
hotels of San Francisco, which has risen from its ashes. 
It crowns the highest elevation in San Francisco, and 
commands a magnificent panoramic sweep of the city. 
bay, the fortified islands and the distant snow-capped moun- 
tains. From here we looked down upon the finest and 
richest section of San Francisco that had been swept bare 
at the fire horror of April, 1906. Here you realize what 
real loss — real disaster — means standing beside the ash 
heaps of this great city. We saw remarkable escapes from 
that wall of fire. The X'ictory Monument in Union Square 
and the Stevenson Monument in Portsmouth S(|uare stands 
unscathed and south of Market street stands the ignited 
States Mint and the old Mission Dolores, now doulily 
])recious, ])rotected as it must have been by the saints. It 
Vvas difficult to believe that the business section had been 
completely annihilated, for new buildings and better are 
going up on every side, l)ut amid it all you see the evidences 
of destruction and you cannot overcome a feeling of 
depression. 

Fastern conservatism advised tiu'ning tlie unstable jXMiin- 



siila int(i a park, but not so the victims of this colossal 
disaster. They had learned a truth, many centuries old ; 
tliat buildins^s founded on a rock will stand, and on these 
])rincii)les her people are relniildins^-, and with wliat mai;"- 
nificent eneri^y and triumphant courat^e. 

The Cliff House, one of California's famous attractions, 
escaped, only to be consumed by fire last June. (lolden 
Gate I 'ark. where was pitched the refuL;e camps for the 
thousands of homeless and unfortunate ones who liad been 
stripped of every earthly possession, is a beautiful si)ot 
covering" more than a thousand acres with its myriad 
of flowers and trees, its Japanese tea oarden and new 
stadium, a wonder of all beholders. 

We bade good-bye to this wonderful phoenix city at 
4^:20 p. M. , X'isiting' the sjKicious Pullman offices at the 
h'erry r'uildino;. which Mr. Lincoln exhibited with much 
pride. As we passed out of the water gate of the great 
city of San Francisco and stood on the deck of the com- 
modious steamer crossing its beautiful l)ay, we saw a 
multitude of vessels floating the flags of all nations, and 
the (iolden Gate, like an open door, to what our country 
wills. We bade good-bye to Mr. Lincoln at Oakland, the 
beautiful citv of homes, thanking him for a most ]:)leasant 
and interesting day and started, homeward bound, on the 
Southern Pacific. We retired after passing Sacramento. 

Saturday, April 4. — When we awoke we had passed 
Summit. 7.017 feet elevation, our highest ])oint of the Sierra 
Nevada, but its granite ])eaks rose all around us 
to an elevation of T 0,000 feet. We had passed through 
fort\" miles of snow sheds and were thankful that good 
management had caused us to pass them at night. We 
soon crossed the State Line and were in the great Nevada 
desert at an elevation all day of 5,000 feet, — the most 
uninteresting day of our tri]), and such dust: it seemed 
to penetrate to the innermost ])arts of everything, but we 
were unmindul. W'e were thinking of California; its 
wonderful ])ossiI)ilities, her area which would contain New 



York. Ohio, Xew Jersey and all of the Xew England States 
within its boundary lines, her more than i.ooo miles of 
ocean front, her dustless oiled rail and carriage roads, 
her matchless climate, her snow-capped mountains and 
vitalizing sunshine, her (larden of Eden valleys of fruit, 
and more than all else, her delightfully ideal homes and 
everywhere the warm fragrance of flowers, and we said 
in our hearts, it was good to have been here. 

Sunday, April 5. — When we awoke we had ]jassed over 
the (ireat Salt Desert and were on the Great Salt Lake, 
a new line known as the Og'den-Lucin " Cut off." This 
"Cut Off " is I02 miles in length, seventy-two miles on 
land and thirty miles on trestle work and fill-ins over the 
waters of Great Salt Lake, and is most interesting. We 
soon arrived at Ogden where our car was transferred to 
the Denver & Rio Grand R. R.. enroute to Salt Lake City, 
a distance of thirty-six miles directly south, arriving at 
8:15 A. M. Utah's history beg"ins with the advent of 
Brig-ham Young in 1847. We had heard much of Mor- 
manism. Reed Smoot, etc.. but Salt Lake City was a reve- 
lation to us in many ways. It is the capital of L^tah and a 
beautiful city of 75.000 inhabitants, with an altitude of 
4.200 feet above sea level, nestling at the very base of the 
Wasateh moimtains. which rear their snow-capped peaks 
7,000 to 8,000 feet above, with streets 132 feet wide, along- 
each side of which is a clear cold stream of water from 
the mountain canyons, with beautiful shade trees of locust, 
box, elder, catalpa and fruit orchards and gardens, giving 
the city an appearance of comfort and repose on this 
])eaceful Sabbath day. We were naturally interested in 
the part that all tourists are and were directed to Temple 
IJlock — here are situated the great ecclesiastical buildings 
of the Mormon Church — in the center of the city. It is 
forty rods s(|uare and surrounded by a high adobe wall, 
containing- ten acres laid out artistically and ornamented 
with beautiful shrubs and flowers. Tt contains the Tenij^le, 
Tabernacle, .Vssemblv Hall and I'm-can of InfcM-mation. 



1 lore we were received most courteously and informed that 
it was the time of General Conference (held twice a year), 
and services would be held at lo A. M. to which all would 
be welcome. We had time to visit the Temple, a wonderful 
building' of white granite, forty years in l)uil(lini^, at a 
cost of $10,000,000. It is closed to the general public, 
only the b'aithful are allowed to enter for sacred ^atherini^s. 
On the s(|uare near Temple lUock is an im])osin_si" monu- 
ment of Urit^ham Youn^-. Ou the adjoining- block is Lion 
House and l'>ee-l five House and Amelia Palace, the home 
of I)rii»ham Younj^'s favorite wife. Near is Eai^le Gate, 
the entrance to what was formerly the private grounds 
of the late president, P>righam Youn.^-. and the home of 
his twenty-six wives and fifty-six children. One block 
north of Eagle (iate. on First street, is his tomb, surrounded 
by an iron grating, he rests alone, as the city for sanitary 
reasons, oblige the family to be buried in the cemetery. 
He died in 1877. Since then the government and public 
opinion has eliminated the objectionable part of their peculiar 
faith. We attended services in the Tabernacle, a most 
wonderful building, oblong in shape, T50 by 250 feet and 
eighty feet high. The roof is one unbroken arch, without 
any centre sup])ort — sustained on forty-six columns of 
sandstone. It has twenty doors, most of which open out 
and are nine feet wide. It has a seating capacity of 13,000, 
and was crowded with worshippers and many outside 
unable to enter. We were most fortunate in securing the 
best of seats. 

The services were most im])ressive. During the invoca- 
tion by the President Joseph F. Smith, we thought how 
unusual to have some one repeat so in unison every word 
of his prayer : but was told it was the effect of the build- 
ing's wonderful acoustic pro])erties, which are so perfect a 
whisper can be heard 200 feet. It was indeed a privilege 
to hear the organ, the second largest, and has been con- 
ceded by visiting musicians to be the finest in the world. 
It has 5,000 ])ii)es and four key boards, in addition to the 
])e(lals. It is blown bv a ten-horse power electric motor. 



The choir lias 550 enrolled sint^ers and is divided into ei,<j;lit 
vocal parts, first and second so])rano, alto, tenor and bass. 
Their rendering of " Nearer My God To Thee " was some- 
thing to never be forgotten. We left before the close of 
the services, as the acoustic properties were too attentive 
to Pa])a's cold. We visited Fort Douglas, a United States 
military post, 700 feet above the city, and afforded a magnifi- 
cent view of the entire valley. We saw the S])anish walls, 
built in 1853 as a protection against the Indians : it was 
twelve feet high, six feet thick at the base and two and 
one-half feet at the top and nine miles long. We could see 
the lake, twelve miles away, the Dead Sea of America, a 
mystery of creation. Its area is 2,500 square miles and its 
mean de])th about sixty feet. Here is Saltair. one of the 
most beautiful bathing resorts in the world. You cannot 
sink in the (Ireat Salt Lake. It possesses an intensely 
saline quality, being twenty-six per cent salt. We had 
thought of Mormonism as practically the only religion 
professed in Utah, but they have many beautiful and costly 
churches of nearly every denomination, including I'ajitists, 
Catholic. Christian. Congregational, Episcopal, Hebrew, 
Jospehite, Lutheran, Methodist, Scientist and l^nitarian. 
We returned to our car at 3:00 p. ^\. and as we started 
again on our homeward trip our hearts were filled with the 
peace of this beautiful Sabbath cx]ierience. There may 
have been the " cloven foot " — we did not sec it and I 
thought of an article in llic Outlook " that no human being 
can settle all questions, tliat every man must select the 
things which belong to him,, and leave the other things 
alone; that before each human soul lies one path and that 
by keeping to that i)ath salvation is secured." We followed 
the windings of the River Jordan and along the shores of 
the i^lacid Utah Lake, through beautiful vine dotted Utah 
valley, reaching Soldiers' .Summit, an elevation of 7,434 
feet — on the great Wasateh range. W'c retired shortly 
after ])assing Castle (late, two huge pillars ot rock — one 
500 and the other 430 feet high, richly dyed with red — 
with the beautiful ureen lir trees at their base, makim> a 



heautitiil contrast, rise above the track, formin;:^- a narrow 
gateway, throui^ii which the Price River and the raih'oad. 
liave barely room to i^ass. 

Monday. April 6. — We arose at 5:00 a. m.. just ])eforc 
reaching" (denwood Springs, elevation 5.758 feet, beginning" 
the day on the Scenic Line of the World. Here we saw the 
lieautiful Hotel Colorado, at this health and ])leasnre resort, 
famous for its marvelous hot springs. This is the ])oint 
from which President Roosevelt makes his vacation tri])s 
into tlie big game country. Just after leaving here we ])ass 
through a tunnel T.331 feet in length and enter the wonder- 
ful canyon of the Grand River. It is indeed one of Crea- 
tion's miracles. For sixteen miles we pass aiuong and 
through these massive bulwarks of this gigantic range, of 
the most brilliant coloring, and rising in many places to 
an almost perpendicidar heighth of 2,500 feet. The color- 
ings of these vast bastions of granite are not overdrawn. 
It was like a kaleidoscope in its ever changing forms and 
colors, as we were whirled up the canyon with our two 
enormous engines in front, and one in the rear, with barely 
room in some places for the railroad and river. We had 
seen this turbulent stream, after it had mingled its waters 
with the green, far down in the (irand Canyon of Arizona. 
.Vbout two hours' ride farther up the niountain we enter 
another of the great passes of the Rocky Mountains, the 
Eagle River Canyon. Here are not only the miraculous 
works of nature, but the wonders of human handiwork. 
On the sides and summits of this canyon. 2.000 feet above 
the track, resembling eyries of eagles, are the shaft houses 
and dwellings of gold miners. The tramways and endless 
steel ropes by which the precious metal was conveyed to 
the track, 2.000 feet below, was most interesting. A little 
further on we enter Red Cliff Canyon, a very interesting" 
gorge, when we soon see the famed Mount of the Floly 
Cross, rising to an elevation of 14.176 feet, bearing on its 
bosom the snow white banner of the Christian faith, formed 
liy transverse canyons of immense (le])th. filled with t'ternal 



snow. A few miles further up we reach the Tennessee 
Pass, on the Great Continental Divide, passing through this 
great granite mountain in one of the highest tunnels in 
North America, nearly one mile in length, at an elevation of 
10.240 feet. I'Vom here we see Fremont Pass, the highest 
railroad ])ass in the world, at an elevation of 11,540 feet, 
named for General Fremont on his memorable trip across 
the Rockies in 1842. We soon see Leadville, with its 
famous gold and silver mines, the highest city in the world. 
10,200 feet elevation. Passing Salida. v\diere this scenic 
road's lines radiate in all directions we enter the Grand 
Canyon of the Arkansas, through which the river makes 
its way to the plains. Words cannot depict the grandeur of 
this eight-mile ride. About midwav in the canyon is the 
world-famed Royal (iorge: here the walls of the canyon rise 
to a perpendicular height of over half a mile, and is not 
wide enough for the railroad and river. A long bridge has 
been constructed suspended in mid-air over the seething 
cauldron of the rushing Arkansas River, forming one of 
the most wonderful pieces of scenery on tliis great trans- 
continental route. We soon reach Pueblo — called the Pitts-, 
burg of the West, on account of its great manufacturing- 
industries. After an hour's ride northward we arrived at 
Colorado Springs at 4:20 r. m. It had been indeed, as has 
been said, a day that bankru])ts the Fnglish language, a 
day never to lie forgotten. We went to the Alamo and 
found it all it had been represented. Our hearts were made 
glad with letters from (^ur Dear Ones, and after attending 
to our daily pleasure of " sending postals." we were glad 
to rest after our strenuous day of sightseeing. 

Tuesday, April 7. — Was wonderfully bright and clear. 
We started early with fine horses and open carriage and 
a well informed guide. Colorado Springs is a health 
resort and a beautiful city of 35,000 inhabitants and an 
elevation of 6.000 feet. Wg found broad avenues, shady 
streets and splendid buildings. We i)articularly noticed the 
man\' beautiful and costlv churches and were told this is a 



temperance town. Such beautiful private residences. We 
were told the t^reater proportion of the wealth of the 
Cripple Creek gold field is centered here. We saw the 
beautiful home of Mrs. Hayes, daughter of Jefferson Davis 
I if Civil War fame. We saw with much interest the home 
of banker W. S. Jackson, and in the cemetery just outside 
the city the grave of his wife Helen Hunt, the author of 
Ramona. She died sixteen years ago and already " Time's 
unpitying fingers " are beginning to obliterate the memory 
of one who wrote so graphically of Indian wrongs and 
spoliations. It is the inevitable law ; as well might the sand 
dune struggle against the sea, as we, with the insistent 
blur and effacement of the implacable years. We drove five 
miles on the mesa road to the beautiful home of General 
P^almer at Glen Eyrie, situated in a great confusion of 
enormous pillars of exquisitely tinted pink sandstone 
erected and carved by nature into myriads of fantastic 
shapes, forming with its thickly growing native shrubbery 
a most unique park. We saw an eagle's nest perched high 
up on one of these brilliant hued moneliths. We were 
much interested to hear that General Palmer entertained 
last June 250 war veterans from his native State, Penn- 
sylvania, paying all their expenses there and back and 
giving them a good time and each a gold brick of $100 
value to take home. We visited the famous (iarden of 
the (iods. The i)ortals of this famed gateway are 330 
feet high, two enormous masses of deep red sandstone. 
I wish I could describe the wealth of gorgeous color or 
the noble view which this gateway frames. Its wondrous 
feats of architecture and strange freaks of sculpture. The 
mind is kept busy as you drive among them and the 
figures of birds and animals, men and women, cathedral 
si)ires. Statue of Liberty, Kissing Camels and many quaint 
and grotesque suggestions of living forms are pointed out, 
and all in the most exquisite coloring of red, pink, 
cream and pure white. The charm of this matchless scene 
is due partly, to the wonderful contrasts of color, but you 
have a strange wierd feeling as of something su])ernatural. 



as though tliis might he the sacred shrine of long liuried 
gods. We saw the I'alanced Rock said to weigh 500 tons. 
Near here is a heautifnl curio store through which we 
passed and up steps cut into the gorgeous colored sand- 
stone ship, and saw the summit of Pike's Peak through 
a telescope almost as though we stood thereon. We 
visited Maniton, the Saratoga of the West, a summer 
resort noted for its mineral springs and many heautifnl 
hotels. We partook of its waters and visited some of 
the curio stores. Maniton is a heautifnl city, although out 
of season, as was the wonderful cog road up Pike's Peak. 
We saw its station. This road, reaching an elevation of 
14.147 feet, is a marvel of engineering skill, as are many 
of the railroads in these renowned mountains of the Rock- 
ies. We were told there were similar roads in foreign 
countries, hut the greatest stops short hy 700 feet of 
altitude. The history of Pike's Peak dates from 1806 
when Major Pike with a party of L^nited States soldiers, 
saw for the first its whitened crest. On our way hack to 
the hotel we passed through Colorado City, once the capital 
of Colorado when a territory. The old courthouse which 
was used as the capitol huilding still remains as an ancient 
landmark. We heard much ahout gold mining and saw 
three immense smelting plants where 1,350 tons of gold ore 
hrought from Cri])ple Creek, are treated and the gold 
extracted each day. We returned to the hotel more than 
])leased with our four hours' drive over most excellent 
roads. We left Colorado .Springs at 4:25 i'. m. and 
arrived at Denver at ^>:55 p. m.. a trip directly north of 
seventy-five miles. ( )n our way we experienced the first 
unpleasant weather since leaving Chicago. Wc had for- 
gotten that it could rain. On arriving at Denver our hearts 
were cheered, on coming out of the Cnion Station, hy an 
enormous arch, six stories high, hlazing with myriad electric 
lights, the word " Welcome." We were made most com- 
fortahle at the heautifnl Motel .\lhanv. 



Wednesday. April 8. — Was a beautiful day. as Denver 
had redeemed her reputation of hein^- the " City of Sun- 
sliine." It is also known as the " Queen City of the Plains," 
and ■' Denver the Ileautiful." VVc thout^ht it was all this 
and more. It is the eapital of the State of Colorado, with 
a population of 195,000 and an elevation of one mile. Den- 
ver is beautifully situated on the banks of the historic 
Platte, within the shadow of the majestic Pike's Peak 
Ranye and that historic beacon sumnn't which guided the 
earl\- explorers across the (ireat IMains. l'"rom nearly 
every part of the city you have a magnificent view of more 
than 200 miles of these majestic snow-clad peaks. It is the 
!j;'eo!^ra])hical, commercial, i)olitical, social and railroad 
centre, not only of Colorado, but of the entire Rocky 
Afountain re^gion. Sixteen railroads centre here in a line 
Cnion Station and radiate to all parts of the Cnited States. 
We spent two Ikmu's of genuine pleasure on a seeing Denver 
car with a most entertaining guide. 1 lere adjectives had 
ceased to be of xalue. nearl\- evervthing being described 
as being the first or best " on the face of the globe." and 
Denxer is indeed, worth the attention and admiration of 
all who behold it. We saw the magnificent State capilol 
occupying three entire blocks and having cost neai"]\' 
$3,000,000. We were annised at hearing of an eastern 
landscape gardener whose only inipro\enient was covering 
the beautiful grounds with dandelions that took three men 
some long time to eradicate. We thought of our beautiful 
ca|)itol ])ark. in the s])ring with its lawn of gold, but did 
not protest. Their beautiful and costly school buildings and 
free |)ublic librarv of 100,000 volumes, were pointed out 
with much pride and their costlv clul) I>tiildings — a woman's 
club with over 1.000 members. We saw the Auditorium 
now under construction, which will ha\e a seating cai)acit\ 
of 20,000. where the Democratic convention is to be held 
in July, 1 90S. We were told that the city can care for 
100,000 visitors in their forty-nine hotels, many of them 
palatial in size and appointments. W'e drank- its pure 
\\ater taken from artesian wells 380 to I.i6f) feet beneath 



the city. We saw tlieir beautiful |)arks of 2.000 acres, 
and boulevards, and in the residence districts, beautiful 
shade trees with a wide strij) of lawn on each side of 
the centre of the street. We visited the shopping- district 
where they challenge even Alarshel Field in size and com- 
pleteness. We were charmed with the beautiful homes of 
both the rich and poor, and, were told that the laboring class 
nearly all own their own homes ; one of the most obvious 
sig-ns of the perfect and ideal conditions which are found 
in Colorado's capital. I paid my respects to Mrs. Sarah 
Piatt Decker, the charming president of the ( General Fed- 
eration of Women's Clubs, at her beautiful home in the 
aristocratic precincts of Capitol Hill, and was most cordially 
received. She told me the messag^e she will take to the 
General Convention in June, at I'oston. that she had 
visited forty-four State Conventions of Woman's Clubs and 
had never seen any discord, any ill feeling, any gossip. All 
had been harmony and good will. A wonderful messag'e. 

We said good-bye to the Albany with much regret, glad 
that we had not " missed " Famous Bohemia, and started 
again homeward at 9:50 p. m. on the Cnion Tacific. 

We had seen " Denver the Beautiful " and the " City of 
Sunshine." but why the "Queen City of the Plains?" and 
I remembered that here women too are citizens The 
mothers, wives and daughters have the right to express 
their convictions in the only effectual manner, at the polls. 
The Mayor of Denver says: "Woman suffrage has been 
an im|)ortant factor for morality and better government in 
this State." and Professor Kelley of Colorado, says : " ( )ur 
women voters are mainly interested in (|uestions aft'ecting 
education, i)ul)lic cleanlines. i)ublic morality, civic beauty, 
charities and correction, i)ublic health, jjublic libraries and 
such subiects as more intimately affect home life, and 
conduce to the i)rosi)erity of the family," and J'udge Ben 
1"). Lindsev, of the Denver juvenile CoiU't, says: "Woman 
suffrage in Colorado, for over ten years has more than 
demonstrated its justice. Many good laws have been 
obtained in Colorado which would not have been secured 
but for the jiower and inlhience of women." 



Thursday. April 9.— We bci^an the day at North I'latte. 
Xebraska. the silver-toii^ned orator's State and spent a 
most enjoyable day, on the trail of the old emigrant wag'on 
road, across the (ireat Plains. We thoui^ht as we were 
whirled alon^- in onr palatial Pnllman, of the It^ni^" trains of 
o-old seekers wendini;- their way over the plains, when the 
country was filled with hostile Indians and herds of buffalo. 
We were in si^ht of the historic Platte river most of the 
day. and were much interested in the lar^e cattle ranches 
and stock yards, and tlie splendid ar^icultural country, 
wf-il developed and very ])roductive. arrivim;- at Omaha, 
th.e metropoHs of Xebraska. and po])ulation of 135,000, 
about 6 p. Ai. It has a l)eautiful l^nion Station and the 
larg;'est s'old reduction jilants in the world. We crossed the 
mi.qhty Missouri over a mat^niticent steel bridge of eleven 
spans, seventy-five feet above the water, to Council Bluffs 
on the opposite shore, the terminus of the I'nion Pacific 
Raih'oad. our train runnini;' on to the " Chicai^o and Xorth 
Western " and that ni^lit were whirled aloni;- at a most 
wouderful rate across hiwa and the ( Ireat I'^ather of Waters 
and Illinois. 

Friday. April 10. — We arrived at Chicago on time, 8:30 
A. M.. where we found thoughtful messenj^ers from ( )ur 
Dear Ones as we had at every sto])-over on our trip. We 
were soon on our homeward way a^ain at 10:30 a. m. on the 
Lake Shore, on one of the luxurious trains of the Xew 
\'ork Central lines, and we felt at home once more. The 
remainder of our journey was most pleasant but uneventful. 



Saturday, April 11. — As we saw agaia the peaceful 
Mdhawk flowing gently through its beautiful placid valley, 
it seemed to speak to us kind words of welcome, and we 
were home ag'ain at 9:20 a. m. with "Our Dear Ones" to 
greet us ; and all was well. We had covered nearly 8.000 
miles and had made good our " Itinerary '" each day, as we 
had planned from the beginning" and as a string" of pearls, 
we count them over, every one apart. All Perfect Days. 
Returning thanks for a " pleasant journey and safe return," 
knowing this '' Except the Lord keep the city, the watch- 
man waketh but in vain." 



rress of 
Kafirehi, All'avy, N. Y. 



L^^fii 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

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